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State House Speaker David Ralston says the ethics reform bill passed this week by his chamber is a historic step toward limiting lobbyists’ influence at the Capitol. Speaking at the Atlanta Press Club Tuesday, he defended some of the bill’s more controversial provisions.

A bill aimed at limiting lobbyists’ influence over Georgia lawmakers passed the state House Monday. The measure is a lobbyist gift ban, but ethics reformers say it has too many loopholes, and would force activists to register as lobbyists.

Some Georgia lobbyists say the gift ban bill proposed by the state House speaker unfairly paints their profession with a broad brush. On the heels of David Ralston filing the ethics reform bill Tuesday, many lobbyists are fighting back against the perception they’re up to no good at the Capitol. They say they’re merely trying to educate lawmakers about important issues they may not know much about.